ENGLAND head coach Phil Neville hailed the impact of midfield duo Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh following their performances in the 2-2 draw with the United States in the SheBelieves Cup in Nashville.

Goals from England’s Steph Houghton and Nikita Parris either side of half-time sandwiched strikes from Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath as Neville’s side produced a superb display against the reigning world champions.

“Lucy Bronze is the best player in the world. Write that down, print that, because she is,” Neville said.

“The two central midfield players today were probably the bravest players on the pitch in terms of having to take the ball under the most pressure. Bronze and Walsh in midfield were colossal.

“Keira Walsh, I think, is getting up to the level of being world-class and believing it: she takes the ball, she passes the ball, she’s athletic and has real energy.

“And then you throw in the style of football that we want to play — it means that we’ve got a good system.”

Neville felt it was “a top, top game” in which the “two teams went toe to toe and wanted to win.”

He added: “That’s how football should be played. I think both coaches will admit that the result probably wasn’t the most important thing. We’ve just put on an advert for women’s football that was probably as good as I’ve seen.”

England head into the final game against Japan tomorrow knowing a victory will ensure they take home the trophy.